Bank Misled Minister On EUR66m Bonuses For Top Execs

It's emerged that Bank of Ireland has paid its staff more than €66m in bonuses since September 2008, despite telling the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan that no bonuses had been paid.

An investigation by the Department of Finance found that since the government guaranteed the bank's debts in 2008, there have been significant pay outs to senior staff, despite the fact that the taxpayer is pumping billions into the bank to keep it afloat.

Following a parliamentary question in November 2010, the bank told Mr Lenihan that no performance-related bonuses had been paid for the two previous financial years.

Mr Lenihan then used this "incomplete and misleading information" in his reply in the Dail and therefore misled the public.

The investigators say Bank of Ireland's interpretation of what constituted a performance-related bonus, was at odds with the normal definition.

Bank of Ireland has apologized for providing the misleading information and is to pay €2m to the Exchequer in compensation.

Bank of Ireland is 36% owned by the State and it has received €3.5 billion in capital to date from the government.

The true scale of the bank bonuses was revealed in the investigation commissioned by the Department of Finance.

Senior executives were paid previously contracted bonuses worth €4.3m between September 2008 and the end of 2010.

In all there were €43m in bonuses, and commission payments of €23m.

And the bonuses have not finished.

Bank of Ireland says 250 staff are due to share up to €11m in contracted bonuses this year.

However, a new 90% tax rate on bank bonuses was introduced at budget time.